Sky Sports man kicks off Celtic exit rumours ahead of January window

By Euan Davidson

December 31, 2020

Celtic are set to receive bids from the English Premier League and France’s Ligue 1 for midfielder Olivier Ntcham.

According to Sky Sports’ Anthony Joseph, West Brom are leading the chase for the French midfielder. Ntcham, who has had spells at Genoa and Manchester City, has struggled at Celtic Park this season.

The former Man City midfielder is valued at £3.4m by Transfermarkt, having made 14 appearances and boasting 2 goal involvements in 20-21. Celtic will at the very least be looking to make a significant profit on their £4.5m investment in 2017 (BBC).

Ntcham’s performances have been inconsistent as of late / (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)

Celtic should look to move Ntcham on

Yes, he scored that goal against Lazio in last season’s Europa League. Still, there hasn’t been a game in 20-21 where you could point to Olivier Ntcham and say that he stood out.

Neil Lennon has recently preferred a midfield of Soro, McGregor, Turnbull and Christie. There are youth prospects like Scott Robertson, Luca Connell and Ewan Henderson waiting in the wings, while Rogic still has a role to play.

This leaves Ntcham as the odd man out, and Celtic will most likely welcome any realistic bids.

Celtic have never looked quite sure on where to play Ntcham. He can be played in any central midfield role, particularly as a Mezzala (Football-Italia) or a number 10. Despite that versatility, he’s never really made one role his own at Celtic.

He doesn’t really contribute from a defensive perspective, so playing him deeper means sacrificing opportunities to win the ball back in central positions.

West Bromwich Albion have struggled this season and could use a player like Ntcham. Having recently lost 5-0 to Leeds, there are clearly problems all across the pitch for the Baggies (Daily Mail).

A move back to France could be tempting, but it seems likely that Ntcham would want to prove himself in England’s top tier. If a bid of over £8m comes in for the midfielder, we’d be best off saying Salut and Bonne Voyage.